Deception
by tromana
Summary: Patrick Jane finds out he isn't the only one with enemies so he is on guard. Is Red John back or is someone else threatening the boss of the SCU? Jane/Lisbon. Extended version of my drabble Nobody Listened as requested by OnlySoAnHour COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: For those waiting for the final part of 'Dance With Me' - it's nearly done. I just want to triple-check what I have. In the mean time, here's the start of a new multi-parter. This is probably going to be one of the darkest things I'll ever write. Just a warning. x tromana**

**Title:** Deception  
**Author: **tromana  
**Rating:** T  
**Characters:** Lisbon, Jane, Team (Jisbon and RigsPelt if you squint.)  
**Spoilers:** None  
**Summary:** Patrick Jane isn't the only one with enemies. Lisbon has been deceiving her team for a very long time, and that means Jane too. So when strange happenings occur close to home, Jane is on guard. Is it Red John that's back or is someone else on the team the target this time around? Expanded version of the 10 Song Drabble 'Nobody Listened', as requested by OnlySoAnHour.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Mentalist, however much I wish I did.

**Part One**

"I have pizza!"

"I'm surprised it got here in one piece," Cho remarked.

Rigsby placed the pizza down with relish on Jane's desk. Patrick Jane never used it for anything else, so it was the best place to put it. Rigsby loved celebrating the closure of a case. Not only did they get a treat but there was the sense of satisfaction like no other. It gave Rigsby the greatest thrill to know that he'd helped to bring another bastard to justice. It was why he'd got involved in policing, after all.

Lisbon smiled as she walked over to grab her piece. She never ate much of the closed case pizza, provided she could get a look in before Rigsby was there, and always made sure she had a run afterwards. It was always worth it though; Rigsby was always jubilant and his attitude always rubbed off on Van Pelt immediately. Jane would be cheerful because they were and Cho would even manage to crack a smile. Well, sometimes, anyway. You can't ask a miracle to happen that often.

She heard her phone go off from within the bowels of her office. Jane smirked at her, a non-verbal comment on the sheer cheesiness of the ring-tone - causing her to blush. Damn that man. Damn him to hell and back. Why did he have to have such power over her emotions? With closed case pizza in one hand, she excused herself from the situation and entered the relative respite of her office. She frowned as she realised she had six missed calls from one of her younger brothers. Six. He usually had the sense to call her when he knew she'd probably be off work (excluding stake outs, and some of Jane's more madcap plans, that was), so this was probably pretty urgent. Scratch that, it better be bloody urgent. Family just did not disturb her at work.

The pizza was consigned to her desk as she dialled her littlest brother's number frantically. He was always the most nervous, the most likely to call her for the smallest of reasons. Last time he'd called her at work, his cat had just been ran over. Lisbon had had to comfort him for over half an hour before assuring him she would buy him a new cat and bring it over at the weekend.

"Sam," she sighed down the telephone when he finally picked up. "What's wrong?"

"It's Jess." He sounded nervous. "She's gone, Tess. She disappeared three weeks ago. Oh God, I scared her away din't I? It was 'cause I was gonna propose weren't it?"

"Slow down," she instructed, throwing the pizza away. This was going to take some time. "When did you last see her?"

Jessica was a nice girl, she grounded Sam a bit. At least, she had stopped him from calling Lisbon every other day. She did have a habit of disappearing for a week or so citing a need for 'space' as her reason. But she was settling too, settling into a respectable career of midwifery with a boyfriend who doted upon her. Lisbon had hoped they would stay together for a while, at least. One of the Lisbon children deserved at least a little happiness romantically speaking. She knew sure as hell it wasn't going to be her, so seeing her youngest brother ready to ask the big question had filled Lisbon with a lot of joy.

"Three weeks ago today." Lisbon jotted down the notes. "We were in the park for our lunch break and then she din't come home that night. I was okay with that, 'cause y'know, she's done it a million times before. But not for this long, Tess. It ain't right."

Lisbon sighed. Yes, three weeks was a long time, even for Jessica Fitzgerald. She knew there wasn't much she could do to console her brother over the telephone and a mountain of paperwork was staring at her. She swore that it multiplied like amoeba overnight. She promised her youngest brother that she personally would call his local police and that they'd be over to investigate before nightfall. Lisbon had some sway with the police there, partially because it was her homestead, but mainly because of her badge. Missing persons wasn't the jurisdiction of the Serious Crimes Unit of the CBI, but the local guys would be good enough to help Sam.

That night, Lisbon slept fitfully. She was worried about her brother, in his home, alone, fretting about his missing girlfriend. If she had time at the weekend, she promised herself she'd go East and give him a little company. That didn't help sleeping in the here and now, though. Lisbon thought her jog (though she hadn't eaten the pizza, she went out of principle) would have tired her out, yet it hadn't. When she heard the unwelcome buzz of her alarm at 5am, she seriously wondered whether or not it had been worth her while going to bed at all.

She dragged herself into work at 7am, like usual. She shuddered as she threw down a cup of the industrial strength coffee. She hated the stuff, but at least it kept her awake during her long office hours. The rest of the team all filtered in and were present by 9am - all far too cheerful for their own good. Luckily, in Lisbon's opinion, it looked like it was turning out to be a paperwork day. She'd be able to avoid the happy sods for a while at least.

Her phone rang at 10am, Sam was more distressed than ever. A mystery letter had arrived on the doorstep threatening him, Lisbon and Jessica. She demanded Sam fax it over immediately; it was easier than relying on him dictating it through wracks of sobs. After saying a quick goodbye, whilst waiting for the fax to arrive, Lisbon wondered how her brother coped with being so emotional. She knew with her career if she wore her heart on her sleeve, she'd have gone mad by now.

Seems like she wasn't going to have her quiet day in the office. Nor was this case small-scale. The SCU was going to have to get involved after all. Lisbon shuddered at the fact that this was all terribly personal.

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, added this to story alert etc. I'm grateful. **

**There are spoilers for the Season 1 finale from this point. Sorry for not stating this earlier.**

**Oh, and I own nothing. Except Nyssa, who guest stars in this part. She's recovering from an operation, poor thing.**

**Part Two**

"I shouldn't be involved on this case," Lisbon remarked as she handed out photocopies of the fax to her team. "I shouldn't but…"

"You're - we're - the best, boss," Rigsby finished her sentence for her. "There's no way we could trust anyone else with something like this."

Grace Van Pelt and Kimball Cho nodded in agreement. Jane said nothing, already immersed in the death threat her brother had just received. Lisbon shrugged; she wasn't as concerned about the threats as she should be. It was more her brother's well-being and that of his girlfriend she feared for. The team were staring at her with a mixture of sorrow and pity in their eyes - and she did not like it.

"Jane, thoughts?" There was more venom in that than Lisbon meant, but Jane snapped his head to attention in the way required.

"I think there is more to the letter than meets the eye," he pondered out loud. "I think someone is mimicking Red John's style in order to get us on case. I mean why threaten you instead of me, Lisbon?"

"The whole universe doesn't revolve around you, Jane!"

"How do you know it's a mimic?" Rigsby asked.

"How do you know it isn't?" Lisbon put it.

"Well we can't discount either theory yet," Jane announced. "I think we should go have a chat to your brother."

"Boss?"

Lisbon rolled her eyes, relieved that at least one member of the team remembered who was actually in charge of the unit. She nodded in agreement with Jane, before requesting that Rigsby stayed behind at the office. Van Pelt deserved a break from time to time, she was a hard worker and always excelled when pushed to the limits. Besides Rigsby had been looking a little off colour all morning - not that he'd complained about it.

They took the one car, much to the annoyance of Cho. Hearing the bickering between Jane and Lisbon in the office or out in the field was one thing, but being trapped in a small metal box with them for two hours was an entirely different matter. There was such thing as getting on as a house on fire, but those two just went too far. Cho was pleased for the silence yet concerned when the drive was uncharacteristically quiet. Lisbon's face was etched with rigid determination, her jaw set to avoid conveying the internalised worry. Jane kept glancing at her, obviously concerned. They all knew how much Jane cared for their boss, though he rarely showed it. Van Pelt simply didn't know how to break the mood.

When they reached Lisbon's brother's home, they were immediately welcomed by a small tortoiseshell cat. After locking the car, Lisbon bent down to greet the small animal who purred appreciatively before bolting to the front door. Lisbon was struggling hard to remind herself that this was a case and she shouldn't be letting her personal feelings get in the way of her job.

"Nice cat," Cho observed.

"We're here to do a job," Lisbon vocalised, more to remind herself than anything else. She knocked smartly on the door. "Mr. Lisbon? CBI. We're here to talk about your missing partner. Mr. Lisbon?"

Jane was struggling to keep a straight face as Lisbon shouted through the door to her brother. He didn't answer and her frowned deepened. She rustled through her hand bag until she found the keys to her brother's bungalow. The cat was mewing impatiently at the door, her miaows almost splitting the sound barrier. Lisbon grinned triumphantly and slipped the key in the lock.

"Okay, we're just visiting now, right?"

The team nodded in agreement as Lisbon let them in. The cat was most grateful, shooting immediately through to the kitchen, awaiting one of her guests to come and feed her. Lisbon split them up, telling them to have a look out for surveillance equipment. Not even a month ago they'd had problems with Red John watching their every move. Van Pelt was immediately off down into the cellar, whilst Jane blatantly ignored instruction and followed Lisbon into the kitchen.

"Alright, Nyssa," she laughed. "Since when did you get so impatient, eh?"

"It's nice to see you smiling."

"Jane! I told you to go and have a scout around the living room."

"Meh, there's not going to be anything there. It's obvious Sam - it is Sam, isn't it? - left of his own free will."

The cat was happily eating when Van Pelt came rushing upstairs, panicked. Ignoring Jane and his presumptions, Lisbon strode over to her junior agent, a quizzical look etched onto her face. Silently, Van Pelt lead Lisbon and Jane down into the cellar. Peering around, it was barely seconds before she noticed the macabre blood red face peering down at her, and yet there were no bodies.

"Boss?" Cho called down to them. "Everything's fine up here. The place hasn't been bugged."

"Cho, come down here."

"Lisbon," Jane's voice cracked slightly. "I'm sorry."

"This is the only clue I could find."

Van Pelt handed her another piece of paper, sealed with an image not dissimilar to that daubed onto the cellar wall. Roughly, Lisbon tore it open and began to read, growing more concerned by each and every word she read. Lisbon threw a baffled Cho her cell phone as she stormed upstairs, leaving the others in her wake.

"Cho, try and ring Sam, please." She attempted to remain calm. "We need to get back."

"What did the letter say?"

Retrieving the car keys from her pocket, she roughly thrust the piece of paper in Jane's hand - reminding him to be careful with it as it was evidence. The signals from the letter were confusing - some of it was blatant Red John signs, but there was the odd detail that just didn't fit in. If it was Red John, was he going after Lisbon to hurt him even more? She didn't deserve this. Jane dictated the letter to the other two as Lisbon drove, looking more furious than ever.

_Dear Ms. Lisbon,_

_If you're the clever little girl you claim to be, you should be aware by now that the lovely young Jessica Fitzgerald is well on her way to Sacramento. She is fine - for now. The question is are you and your team really bright enough to prevent her death? If not, this hangs on your head personally. After all, you are the ones foolish enough to embark on this very personal witch-hunt._

_Send my love to Patrick Jane. _

"And it's signed off with Red John's trademark," Jane finished.

Lisbon frowned as Van Pelt gasped in horror. None of them liked how this appeared to be playing out.

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Firstly, I'd like to thank lil smiles for becoming my beta on this piece. Thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**And sorry for the delay in updating. Part Four will be up a lot quicker.**

**Part Three**

The car ride back was fraught with tension. After an hour, they stopped to eat, though none of them felt much like it. Cho was eventually successful in getting through to Sam and immediately reported to a thoroughly annoyed Lisbon that he was on his way to Lisbon's apartment. Jane knew how hard it was for her to follow protocol right now; whenever it appeared Red John was on the case the simmering fury in the pit of his stomach became a raging volcano. And to think that he may be threatening someone else on the team just made it all the more worse.

Once they were back at the office, Van Pelt and Cho took it upon themselves to ensure that Rigsby was fully up to date with the most recent developments. They were both particularly relieved to be out of the car - without their playful banter, being trapped with Jane and Lisbon in a car was close to hell. Even Cho was beginning to miss their bickering now. Jane had immediately flopped onto his couch, worry etched across his face. Something about the case just wasn't sitting right with him. But if it was a copycat, how could he or she have been so damn precise?

Lisbon hid in her office as quickly as was feasibly possible and everyone else had the common sense not to bother her. She had the Red John files strewn across her floor, along with the additional scans of the letter her brother had received and the one found in his cellar. Nothing was jumping out to her and she wished it did. Jessica was in danger - and Red John, or whoever it was, was accurate with the fact that if they didn't catch up with him soon, that she would blame herself entirely.

"Lisbon?"She jolted as Virgil Minelli stormed into her office, with a guilty-looking Van Pelt hanging around behind him. She tried straightening up the paperwork in vain, before standing to look her superior in the eye. Lisbon knew that Minelli had always been proud of her, and could remember one occasion when he admitted that she was like a daughter to him. Okay, he'd been drunk at a CBI function, but the loss of inhibitions helped him show more emotions. Something, several people believed would be beneficial for her to do, too.

"Yes, sir?"

"Go home." She stared at him, aghast, before he continued, his voice softening slightly. "Young Van Pelt has told me what's happening. You need to take some time out. If you don't at least take the evening off, it'll cloud your judgement - even more than it already has. Trust me."

"Yes, sir," she replied, morosely, but not without glaring at Van Pelt.

She gathered together the files - despite what Minelli had insisted, there was no way she wasn't going to be considering the case at home. And he knew that, but it was better having her in a place she can theoretically relax than stewing at work. There was also the fact that her younger brother was apparently waiting on her doorstep - he had called them several times and was getting concerned for his sister.

"Hey, Lisbon," Jane sauntered up as she headed out. "There's something not… right about this case.""I know," she replied simply.

"It just feels too cat and mouse, even for Red John."

"I know," she snapped for a second time, "I have to get home, Jane."

Jane pulled a face at her as she stomped off down the hallway and Van Pelt shot him a sympathetic smile before she went to carry on with her work. It was unsurprising that she was being so snappish, but it still hurt Jane. He liked to think that she knew how to open up to him, that she didn't have to carry the weight of the world on her own. But then again, it was Lisbon. She didn't like admitting to having problems unless she absolutely had to.

Lisbon drove home in silence. It was easier that way. She knew Van Pelt had only good intentions by getting Minelli to send her home early, but she couldn't help the indignant rage beginning to brew. This was one of those cases where she naturally wanted to spend every waking moment focussing on. She always felt that way about Red John cases - they were personal, what with his vendetta against Jane. And this time it was doubly so. Lisbon needed to find out what had happened to Jessica - not only for her sake, but for her brother's too.

True to Minelli's word, Sam was sitting on her doorstep. Whilst he trusted her with keys to his house, she'd never even considered repaying the compliment. She had an emergency set in her office and that was all. Lisbon smiled weakly as she approached him and quietly opened the door.

She could sense that something was terribly wrong.

Lisbon opened her living room door and immediately saw the leering blood red grinning face staring down at her. Her eyes traced along the room and spotted the butchered body of Jessica Fitzgerald artfully draped across her couch. Carefully, she closed the door to prevent Sam from getting a look and wordlessly dialled a number on her cell phone.

"Cho?" she questioned. "We have a problem."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks again to my beta, lil smiles!**

**Part Four**

Sam forced himself through into the living room. Lisbon hadn't the heart, nor the energy to hold him back. He burst into tears and rushed off into her bedroom, slamming the door shut. Uncomfortable with the sobs, she opened the door tentatively, grabbing the box of tissues on her bedside table and carefully offered him one. This all reminded her of looking after him as a toddler, when she'd tried in vain to explain what had happened to Mommy. Sam had never been able to deal with death very well, despite the fact it seemed to haunt their family.

Thankfully, the team arrived quickly, along with forensics and she was able to send Van Pelt in to attempt to comfort him. Whilst letting them in, she managed to get a glimpse outside - somehow, people had already begun to gather. She was only mildly surprised. Lisbon didn't have much to do with her neighbourhood, yet gossip had still spread like wildfire. Perhaps it was because she was the female professional who lived alone, when she should theoretically be married, with a kid or two…

She led the rest of her team through to the crime scene. Normally, they all had pretty strong stomachs, but the only one who failed to have a reaction was Cho. The smiley had indeed been painted on the correct wall - Lisbon knew that, as she was the first to walk in. The toe nails were painted, as expected, yet the woman had a red rose and lipstick placed in her hands by her murderer. Racking her brains, Lisbon noticed that the slashes weren't quite typical Red John, but that was currently the least of her concerns. She just wanted to catch whoever had done this to her family as soon as possible. Cho and Rigsby scoured the crime scene - after a quick glance, Jane was satisfied with what he'd seen and already set off to inspect the rest of her apartment.

"Jessica Fitzgerald, 22, trainee midwife from Somerset, El Dorado County," Lisbon announced to Rigsby and Cho. "Lives with her boyfriend, Samuel Lisbon."

"It's alright Lisbon," Rigsby said soothingly, "you don't have to do this."

She shook her head, trying desperately to stop herself from becoming emotional. It was strange, seeing forensics in her apartment, scouring every surface like ants over an open picnic. They'd been informed by them that rigor mortis had yet to set in, the poor girl had been dead for less than three hours. Already, Lisbon found the guilt setting, with such incredible intensity, that she was finding it hard to keep everything together. Here she was, in her own apartment, as the boss of the SCU, relative of a victim and suspect all in one go.

"Can one of you just ask the damn question, please?"

"We know it wasn't you, boss," Cho replied.

"I don't want any loose ends. We need to do this by the book," Lisbon told them. "I don't want people getting off on a technicality."

Lisbon's voice cracked slightly and she was beginning to feel the frustration building exceedingly fast from within. In trying to treat this case like any other, the emotions had to escape somehow - and it just so happened to seep through her voice. She rubbed at her temples, a headache was developing, too. She flopped down onto one of her chairs, glaring at Jane, who was out in the hallway grinning at the few childhood photographs she had on display. He probably was loving this - finally getting the chance to psychoanalyse her through her belongings.

"Fine," Cho replied, "where were you three hours ago?"

"With you guys on the way back from Somerset."

"And we can vouch for that," Rigsby supplied. "Happy now?"

Lisbon nodded. At least that was herself in the clear. Her brother still needed to come up with an explanation, especially as the timing of him being on her doorstep and the apparent placement of the dead girl's body in Lisbon's apartment was exceedingly close. Van Pelt was still consoling him in her bedroom, the poor bloke hadn't stopped crying since seeing her dead body, displayed as flauntingly as she had come to expect from a Red John case. She knew that she would have to go and ask him to come back to the headquarters for questioning and loathed that very thought.

"I'll go to my bedroom and ask Sam to come back with us."

Rigsby placed an affectionate hand on her shoulder. "You don't-"

"I do," she cut him off snappishly. "Anyway, I need to get some painkillers."

"I wonder what the point of the rose is," Cho mused as she slammed the door shut behind her. "He's never done that before."

Lisbon sighed. She could still hear the sobs as she walked up to the closed door. As she opened it, she was greeted with the sight of her brother, having buried his hands in his face, whilst Van Pelt was handing him a supply of tissues. The poor girl looked distinctly uncomfortable at the whole situation, but she probably had been the best one to comfort her brother. Lisbon smiled weakly as she slid open the drawer and picked out the inoffensive bottle of ibuprofen. Grabbing two, she swallowed them without water before kneeling in front of Sam, but not before mouthing a thank you to Van Pelt.

"Sam?" she kept her tone soothing, "Sam, would you be able to come to work with me? Agent Cho wants to ask you a couple of questions."

"But I din't do it, Tess," he wailed. "You know I din't. Why do I haveta go to work with you?"

"It's alright, Sam," she whispered, "it's just procedure."

"Lisbon!"

Lisbon demanded that Van Pelt handcuffed her brother - they didn't want him to run off. She then automatically shot up and bolted to where Jane was shouting from. The bathroom. Lisbon almost flattened Cho, but naturally managed to get in there first. The writing was on the wall - quite literally. She read the message in horror, trying to take in exactly what had been written in lipstick over the tiles.

_Hello once more, Ms. Lisbon,_

_I do so hope you appreciate the gift in your living room. I'm certain your little brother will. He is quite slow, isn't he? Anyway, that is beside the point. You're not next, don't worry. But I do have plans. And to think, you were beginning to get along again so well. It has been, what, 15 years since you last contacted each other?_

_xxx_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: To those looking out for the next part of Perfection, I've developed a slight writer's block with it. I'm going to try working on it later today, though. Thanks once again to the rather awesome lil smiles. x tromana**

**Part Five**

"You can stay at my place for the night, boss?" Van Pelt offered.

"Or mine."

"Or…"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Sam had been led down the flight of stairs and out into the car park. Cho had wrestled him into the back of the SUV by the time everyone else had managed to make their way through the hordes of people standing in front of the apartment block, most looking for a bit of excitement in their mundane existences. Lisbon appreciated her team's offers, but she had to go to the headquarters with her brother. Truth be told, he was just as flighty as his girlfriend in times of trouble and someone needed to keep him in check.

"We can take care of Sam," Rigsby replied. "You need to get some sleep."

Jane nodded in agreement.

"Your tension headache is getting worse, isn't it?"

"Just shut up Jane, I'm not some relative of a victim for you to play your mind games on."

"I know you're not, Lisbon."

They were all getting tired, but Lisbon knew it would be best to question Sam whilst the knowledge of today's events were still fresh in his mind. Questioning often lost it's effect if the suspect had a chance to mull over answers to things the criminal mind can work out they'll probably be probed on. In all honesty, none of them really believed Sam Lisbon could be a threat, least of all his elder sister. It was just a case that warranted them to go by the book more than ever this time around.

Cho had been quite happy to be able to question the crowd of people gathering outside the apartment block. Unfortunately, most appeared to have been out around the time the actual murder had taken place - and had only recently gathered due to gossip and hearsay. Those that had been around proved to have no useful additional information and had cast iron alibis, whether that be around a friend's or with an elderly relative. Cho sighed, and hailed a cab. He knew he would arrive about half an hour after the others, just in time to start questioning Lisbon's 'intriguing' younger brother.

"Lisbon?"

"What now, Jane?"

Jane and Lisbon had taken Lisbon's SUV, whilst Rigsby and Van Pelt, along with Sam, were in the other. With their boss in such a snappish mood, they had wisely taken the decision to travel in a separate vehicle. That had never stopped Jane in the past, and wasn't going to stop him now either. This case was obviously personal to both of them, with it seemingly being the work of a Red John along with the involvement of Lisbon's family. The rest of the team didn't know how they were both coping, and to be frank, didn't want to ever find out. They were quite happy to let them argue like two ticking time bombs together.

"Have you had death threats before?"

"Can't you work that out for yourself?" she snorted and kept her eyes on the road. "What makes you ask that, anyway?"

"Just wondering," he answered. "So, have you?"

"Of course I have. I'm a cop. If I hadn't, I'd wonder where I was going wrong with my job."

"Lisbon!" Jane practically shrieked at her. "Death threats are a big deal, regardless of if you work in law enforcement or not. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it is _not _a big deal. With the number of people I've pissed off, it's hardly surprising."

He knew he'd have to file away that information for later and check on whether or not any of the others had received threats upon their lives. He couldn't see how it wasn't a big deal and they fell into a tense silence. Part of him was aching to ask her if she would let him see. She'd been so flippant about it though; maybe she hadn't even kept them at all. Letters painstakingly phrased wishing death upon you, aren't exactly something you'd necessarily want left around, he assumed.

"Please, let me take you to a hotel." Jane stared at her imploringly as they pulled into the CBI car park. "You need to rest. And I promise I will personally tell you of any developments."

Despite being alert enough to drive, Lisbon knew she wasn't awake enough for verbal sparring with Jane. She hated it when he pulled that look on her; the one that felt like his eyes were boring into her very soul. If she'd had more energy and less of a headache, she would never have agreed to Jane's suggestion. Maybe it was for the best though. Seeing Sam being questioned would probably be too much for her; especially in such a fragile (though she loathed thinking of herself as such) state. Sighing heavily, she passed over the keys and slipped out of the driver's seat. Some rest would do her some good. They could discuss the cryptic clue left in her bathroom in the morning. She could only hope the rest of her team realised that they should stop worrying about her well-being and remember their own too.

"Lisbon," the voice is soothing and distant. "Lisbon? Oi, wake up woman."

She jolted back to reality, cursing silently at herself that she'd been able to fall asleep not only with Jane at the wheel, but in the half an hour trip to Jane's hotel of choice. Sucking in her breath, she stepped out of the SUV and straight into Jane's arms. Lisbon glared at him but didn't shake him off. It had been a long day and she didn't want any more arguments. Not until she'd had a little sleep at least.

"They'll look after you here," he assured her.

"Shut up, Jane. I just want to sleep."

The hotel did have a vacancy, Jane knew that they almost always did, and he guided his petulant boss to the room. He knew that she'd probably kill him for paying for the room. She was barely awake and hadn't argued when he'd handed over his credit card. Unlocking the door, Jane guided Lisbon over to the bed, where she promptly collapsed and fell asleep.

Before he left, however, he slipped Lisbon's cell phone in his pocket and left her with his. Using hers, he texted Rigsby to let him know where he'd dropped Lisbon off. The team were almost as protective of her as he was and he already knew that they'd want to keep an eye on her in some shape or form. Finally, he placed the key on the bedside table and took one last guilty glance over at her tiny form before firmly shutting the door behind him.

***

"And you're certain you had no idea about the affair Miss. Fitzgerald was having?"

"I ain't no mind reader, how would I have known?"

"You never suspected, what with her frequent long disappearances? That didn't irritate you, make you angry? Set up the whole murder like stories you may have overheard your sister, Teresa Lisbon, discussing with her work colleagues?"

"I don't have a clue what yer talking 'bout."

Cho leant in and stared deeply into Samuel Lisbon's eyes. They were nothing like Lisbon's; they were bluer and seemed much colder. At least Lisbon's always seemed to have some mirth dancing behind them. Cho was certain he knew something, though what, he couldn't tell. Unfortunately, despite rigorous searches of his car by Rigsby and Van Pelt, before they'd headed off to do an unofficial stakeout on the hotel where Lisbon was staying, they still had nothing. And with all his vehement denials, he was fairly certain they'd have to let him off the hook. For now, at least. Where was Patrick Jane, when you needed him? Fawning over their boss, that's where. Whilst Cho appreciated that the bloke closed cases, he needed to learn not to cross the fine line between professionalism and… everything else.

"Have you heard of Red John?"

There was a beat. If Cho had been feeling more his usual self, he'd have noticed.

"Red who?"

"Red John."

"Nope."

Cho sighed. They were going around in circles. He was going to have to let him go. They could always get him back in again for more questioning. Perhaps he'd buckle with Jane around? Cho could feel the need to sleep rapidly approaching and wanted to be on top of his game in the morning. Sighing, he grabbed a release form and allowed Lisbon's brother to leave. Sam practically ran out of the building as fast as it was physically possible. Cho gathered together what he needed and nodded at Jane as he left the building, and Jane returned. Tomorrow, they'd get a lead. Tomorrow, they'd remove some of the smoke and mirrors covering up the bigger picture.

Jane liked the office when it was quiet. He called Van Pelt to check that nothing was happening on their stakeout and was relieved when she told him exactly that. Well, Rigsby had briefly fallen asleep due to the cold he was trying to shake off, but otherwise, nothing. He brewed himself a chamomile tea in the kitchenette before sourcing out his reliable couch. Blowing gently on it, Jane enjoyed the delicate aroma before he started to drink.

Lisbon's phone buzzed cheerily and Jane's tea nearly ended up down his three-piece suit. After safely placing his cup and saucer on the floor, he scooped the offending piece of technology from out of his pocket. Grinning, he saw that there was a text. He expected it to be Lisbon, berating him for stealing her phone but it was actually from a 'Liz Hopkins'. Jane wouldn't have looked, but curiosity got the better of him after five minutes.

"_It's your fault. You didn't find me in time. Please pick my body up from the lakeside in Somerset. Elizabeth."_

He dialled his own number hurriedly.

"Lisbon?" She sounded exhausted as she answered his phone. "We need to go to Somerset again. Who's Elizabeth and does she know your brother?"

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Thanks, as ever, go to lil smiles for being such an awesome beta. Also, voting for the 2009 Jellies is open on Jello-Forever. Please go and vote for your favourite fics and show some brilliant authors your love.

But now, on with the _Deception_ saga...

x tromana

**Part Six**

Lisbon scowled at Rigsby and Van Pelt as she climbed into the back of the SUV. Jane had said he would meet them there after the harried phone call he'd had with Lisbon. They, however, were both mouthing apologies for the stakeout they'd been carrying out. For starters, they knew just how capable she saw herself as being, never mind the fact that she hadn't requested their protection. She knew they had their hearts in the right place, though. Lisbon couldn't stay mad at for them for long; had she been in their place, she would have done exactly the same thing. Besides, she wanted a 'word' or two with her consultant. Needless to say, she had a few 'issues' with what had occurred over the past few hours.

Travelling with Rigsby and Van Pelt was significantly quieter than if she'd travelled in the half-light with Jane. Lisbon was beginning to take the squabbling for granted now, and even enjoyed it. She wasn't exactly surprised that the journey mainly consisted of the pair sneaking embarrassed glances at one another, and wondered if they would have been more talkative without the presence of their boss in the back seat. She did, however, expect that it wouldn't be much different, bless them.

Lisbon had taken the opportunity to tell them as much as she knew about Elizabeth Hopkins. They'd only started talking again two months ago. They were mates throughout high school, but they grew apart at college - especially when she found out that Lisbon was determined to become a police officer. Peaceful to the core, it was horrible to even think about the idea that she could have experienced a violent death. Out of all her childhood friends, Liz was the one she would have expected to die quietly from old age. Yet apparently, because she had resumed contact with Lisbon, she was dead. Lisbon was not looking forward to informing her husband. But then again, regardless of who the victim was, she never did.

"Do you know exactly where this lake is, boss?" Rigsby inquired.

"Take the next left," she replied in way of answer.

Within a couple of minutes they were there, greeted by the sight of Patrick Jane, absorbing the sun's early morning rays whilst leaning against his eggshell blue 'death-trap', ' as Lisbon liked to think of it, of a Citroen. He beamed and waved as Rigsby parked the vehicle and they all piled out.

"Van Pelt, I'd like you to call Cho. I need to know where Sam is. And get him to run checks to see if any of our phones have been tapped, same goes with internet connections."

"Yes, boss," Van Pelt replied, hanging behind as Lisbon led her boys away.

"Jane, have you found anything?" she asked, whilst snatching her cell phone back and returning Jane's.

"No, and the local sheriff hasn't turned up yet either. Either this is a hoax or nobody has discovered her body."

Lisbon shivered slightly at the idea of her old friend being dead. Part of her simply didn't want to believe it until she had the cold, hard truth in front of her. She looked at the message that Jane had conveyed to her earlier and couldn't surmise much more than she could a couple of hours ago. Sighing, she led them towards a copse of trees, where she and Liz had become reacquainted three months ago. Lisbon had been visiting Sam, and Liz had just got a job at a local elementary school.

"Lisbon!"

Naturally, Jane had wandered off. Lisbon was now used to hearing her surname being bellowed in urgent tones by him. Along with Rigsby, and Van Pelt, who had caught up since calling a grouchy Cho, she ran in the direction where Jane was calling her from. Her feet ground to a halt about fifty metres from the crime scene. On every tree surrounding the copse, Red John's trademark leered down at them, almost mocking in a way.

"Don't say it," she whispered. "Just call for forensics and the local police. We need to get this area sealed off before the general public wakes."

Rigsby complied as Jane led Lisbon, pointing out features of interest in at the crime scene. It felt so odd. When Lisbon had seen her only a couple of months ago, Liz was so full of life. Now, she was just a pallid corpse with bloodied finger and toenails and deep gashes to the chest. She had been dead longer than Jessica had been, even with just a glance they could tell that much. Lisbon knew they'd have to wait a while to know exactly how long it had been since the poor woman was murdered. And as far as they could tell, no bloody witnesses, again. Great.

Rigsby was still waiting at the car park. The local authorities said they would be there immediately. Van Pelt had disappeared to take a call, and jogged back, grimacing slightly at the scene in front of her.

"Cho called," she informed Lisbon and Jane. "Your line has been tapped. He's trying to track down who and thinks he's getting close. As for your brother, well…"

Grace took a deep breath. "He seems to have done a runner, boss."

Lisbon simply ran a hand through her hair. "Great, just great. Thanks, Van Pelt."

Half an hour later, Lisbon found herself sitting shotgun to Jane in his Citroen. Not a place she preferred to be, but at least she wouldn't be interrupting any talks the two younger agents could be having. At least she would now have a few spare minutes to not only discuss the case, but have a couple of words about a certain hotel bill. Every offer of repayment and partial payment he refused, and despite evidence to the contrary, he was fairly certain this was another hoax. It was a pretty damn violent and bloody hoax, though. And it didn't change the fact that someone appeared to be slowly picking off friends of hers either.

"Lisbon?"

"What, Jane?"

"We _will_ sort this out. I promise."

"And you can be certain of that how?"

His face looked grim as they pulled into CBI headquarters. By the time he'd killed the engine and unbuckled, Lisbon was already at the entrance. Jane liked to think he had some kind of idea what she was going through. But then again, the message on her bathroom wall implied that she was an intended victim. It was one thing having a gun suddenly held to your head in the middle of a fight, but another thing entirely knowing people were planning such deeds against you. He shuddered slightly and locked up his precious car. He was _not_ going to lose Lisbon. Not to Red John, or whoever thise bastard was.

Van Pelt and Rigsby arrived five minutes after them. They all organised themselves around Cho's desk, pulling up chairs or perching. He had been very busy whilst they carried out their wild goose chase. Information about Elizabeth was coming through from forensics. It seemed pretty much everything ran parallel with Jessica's murder. So even if it wasn't Red John, it was the same guy attempting to chase down Lisbon.

"Got it!"

Cho looked triumphantly around at the rest of the team. He'd found out the company who had been tapping Lisbon's phone line about half an hour ago - a Major Drench Corporation. Apparently, it was a drinks' company based a half hour outside of Sacramento, that went bust about three years ago. He showed the rest of the team what he'd realised.

"Oh," Grace mouthed. "Oh no, not again."

**TBC...**

**A/N: **Cyber cookies (or bananas, or jelly babies) to whoever works out what Major Drench is an anagram of. It should be pretty obvious, so I'm looking for exact words before I give these out! x tromana


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** This is the part that includes the drabble this was based on in! I know, took me long enough to get to that point. Jane may be ever so slightly OOC towards the end of this part. I think it can be put down to confused emotions and the stress situation. I hope. Anyway. Thanks to lil smiles who not only continues to do an awesome job in betaing this, but has also made me a banner for it! Okay, enough rambling. I hope you enjoy this, feel free to let me know at any time. x tromana

**Part Seven**

"Van Pelt, I want you and Rigsby to go…"

"Lisbon?"

Lisbon spun on her heels to face Virgil Minelli, who had just stormed in.

"Yes, boss?"Lisbon hadn't even noticed Minelli was in the bullpen until he spoke, caught up in the events that had been unfolding. He had a harried look on his face; he too had been working overtime, what with the newest developments on the Red John case. The file in has his hand automatically looked ominous as he passed it mutely to Lisbon. She scanned through the documentation, with every word, growing more panicked. The team watched on with concern. Lisbon appeared visibly shaken as she read the fax, addressing her personally, and at one point had to subdue a gasp as the writer asked if she had liked the gifts that had been left for her in Somerset and at her apartment.

"What is it, boss?" Van Pelt may not have had the observational skills that Jane had, but none of them needed them in such a situation.

Lisbon ignored Van Pelt's inquiries and returned her attentions to Minelli.

"When did you-"

"Five minutes ago. I know your team is on this case and I really wish that you weren't, but be careful, Lisbon," Minelli sighed. "No unnecessary risks. Not from you and especially not from…"

"I know, boss," she replied, "we will be careful."

Minelli raised a disbelieving eyebrow before turning on his heel and leaving Lisbon to update her team. While she had received numerous death threats before, this was the first time one had come directly to her at work. And it was the first time it actually looked serious. The fact that it said they held Sam captive too had made things all the worse. At least that explained where he had apparently disappeared to, though.

"I want you to stay behind now, Cho and…"

"No, boss," Cho replied, "with all due respect, this is Red John we're dealing with. Major Drench is another one of his alias companies - and that's where your brother is being held. We all go."

Van Pelt, Rigsby and Jane all nodded in agreement. It was not often that they all took a stand against her, but on the rare occasions they did, it was with reason. And it was almost always when one of the team desperately needed the help and support of the others. It was an unwritten rule. They worked as a team, through any major problems involving one individual, together. They all stuck their necks out for Jane time after time, so it was only natural that they wanted to be there for their boss.

Lisbon's shoulders sagged in defeat. When they set their minds to something, there was nothing she could do to change it. She just had to ensure she gave careful guidance and attempt to keep them all out of trouble. Instead, she instructed Rigsby, Cho and Van Pelt to collect the gear they would inevitably require, before taking one of the CBI-issued SUVs. A small, nagging voice immediately began questioning why she hadn't sent Jane with them. Now was not the time she needed Jane and his incessant queries. Besides, she _had_ neglected to tell them everything that the fax from 'Red John' had said, mainly because they were all too eager to get on the move.

With the others already on the move, she stormed into her office to collect her car keys and to take some more painkillers. She knew it could be unhealthy, and had heard of the consequences of people getting addicted to the stuff, but it would be okay for a couple of days at least. Besides, she was fairly certain she'd need them to get through the next few hours or so. She moved to open the drawer where she kept them, but a hand was holding it forcibly shut.

"What do you think you're doing, Jane?"

"Before we get on the move, I need to know the whole truth," his whisper almost sounded threatening. "How many? How many death threats have you received?"

"I don't know. A couple a year, maybe?" her voice cracked slightly. "Please, Jane. I just need the damn painkillers."

"More in recent years?"

After he received a sharp nod, he released his hand and allowed her to get to the medicine. Whilst she was distracted, he swiftly grabbed her keys from the desk and was only mildly surprised when she didn't complain loudly. Lisbon was obviously feeling quite ill and not just because of the apparent concern that was written all over her face.

"Lisbon?" Jane queried. "What else was in that fax?"

"There's a bomb due to detonate in the warehouse in two hours. According to whoever wrote the fax, anyway."

"I still don't think it's Red John."

"Neither do I."

After she had taken her pills, they left the building in silence, neither wanting to speak nor knowing what to say anyway. Lisbon sat, staring out of the SUV window, attempting to suppress any flashes of emotion wanting to cross her face. She had to treat this as any other case. Otherwise, it would drive her mad. She _had_ to. Even whilst driving, Jane could tell she was beginning to struggle to keep it all under that polished veneer she'd spent years honing (which, under normal circumstances, made it all the more fun for him to attempt to break), and that now was not the time to be teasing her. He had never seen her quite so fragile, seeming as though with one touch, she'd shatter.

Once they reached the 'Major Drench' headquarters, more a dilapidated warehouse than anything else, the crime scene was already a hive of activity. Cho had used his initiative to call for backup, who were in the process of sealing off the scene. Lisbon walked up to Rigsby, finding it easier to slip into 'agent' mode once out of the SUV and having something to actually do rather than procrastinate as they travelled. He handed her a protective vest, which she slipped on while she requested that he called for the bomb squad. Rigsby only looked faintly surprised at the latest development.

She signalled to Jane to come over, and he immediately complied. Carefully, she detailed the plan she had been considering in the short journey to the warehouse. It was the only one she thought that could work. None of the other agents argued, despite the fact they weren't particularly happy about it. It was foolhardy on her front, at the very least. Jane's face fell and slowly became more and more grim as she spoke. Her intention was to enter the building alone. Bomb squad would be allowed to do so the moment they arrived, too. They appeared to have been held up, however and she hoped that they could have the personal issues regarding the case resolved by the time they did. She didn't want to risk having any of the others put in immediate danger, not this time. If they didn't hear any shots and she wasn't out within half an hour, Cho and Rigsby were to follow.

The others nodded in agreement, while ensuring they had their guns drawn as they took position, eyes locked onto the only entrance and exit to the building. Lisbon swallowed and took a couple of footsteps towards the warehouse. She knew she should at least take one of them with her, but they were like a family to her. Her biological family was fractured enough; she didn't want the one she treasured at work to go the same way. As far as Lisbon was concerned, she was the lead agent, it was her job to go in there first. It took her a few seconds to realise someone had hold of her wrist. Jane. Typical.

"Jane, let go of me," she almost snarled at him.

Instead, he pulled her closer until he practically enveloped her in a hug. She shivered as she felt his warm breath on her temple. Apart from the occasional thump, they never had much physical contact. It was best that way. Simply being held by him in such a manner was enough to almost make Lisbon forget what they were meant to be doing and that they had an audience of the rest of the team and a dozen or so local police. Almost.

"Lisbon, listen to me," he whispered. As she began to pull away, his voice cracked slightly. "You absolutely cannot go in there. It's a trap."

She knew that. God, she knew that, but she couldn't stop the inevitable question tripping off the end of her tongue. "How do you know?"

"I just do."

She released herself from his grip and pulled out her gun to acknowledge that she was at least listening to his concerns. The team's eyes all suddenly became focussed on one small, determined individual as she walked up to the doors of the building. None of them noticed the single teardrop fall from Jane's eye as she headed inside the abandoned warehouse and straight into danger. Away from them, away from _him_.

Jane silently cursed the emotions bubbling inside of him. He hadn't meant to even develop feelings like this for another woman since his wife, least of all, his boss, supervising agent, whatever you wanted to call her. When they had first met he was certain that they were doomed to making each other's lives a misery. That had obviously not been the case, despite their frequent, highly vocal arguments. He couldn't lose her. He'd lost too many people he'd cared about. Patrick Jane was not about to let a serial killer take away someone else he could (potentially, maybe) love.

This was all getting far too close to occurrences in the past. He didn't want to live on the brink, terrified that it was his fault that someone else could die again. It had been a nightmare, back then. No wonder he had to be locked into the mental institution. No one there to listen to him crying, raging and trying to understand what had happened to him. Sophie, bless her, had tried to help. She had even regarded him as a success. But if she had been so truly successful, why was he still pent up with a boiling rage that had threatened to overcome him for years? There was only one reason why it under control these days. One reason alone. Because he _knew_ Teresa Lisbon.

He couldn't go through that again. Lisbon was practically handing herself to Red John (or whoever it was) on a silver platter.

Despite the rules she had explicitly set down, despite the fact he knew that he was walking directly into danger. Despite Rigsby, Cho and Van Pelt's attempts to stop him. Despite all that, he chased after her.

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** As ever, thanks to my beta, lil smiles. And thanks for all the reviews, guys! I'm glad you're enjoying this fic as I've loved writing it. x tromana

**Part Eight**

Lisbon swallowed deeply, trying desperately not to let her nerves get the better of her, as she slowly crept around the building. Her torch shone a rather pathetic beam of light directly in front of her and was currently doing a far better job at searching out cobwebs rather than suspects or her brother. Or indeed, that supposed bomb threat. That was what worried her the most. If the fax was accurate, this place only had approximately an hour left to stand. And that probably included anyone within it too, unless she could do her job quickly and effectively.

She spun around as she heard the rustle of footsteps behind her. Nothing. She let out a sigh of relief; she hadn't even realised that she had been holding her breath. Though someone hadn't been behind her, he had been in front. Lisbon let out a yelp in pain as an unexpected jolt of electricity ran through her body. Some bastard had just used a taser on her and as she fell unconscious, all she could think about was that she should have been doing her job better. Or that she should have shoved her dumb pride where the sun doesn't shine and brought Cho along with her. At least they were all outside, they would be chasing her up in at the most, twenty minutes time. She would be fine.

***

"I don't like this," Van Pelt whispered to Rigsby.

"Neither do I," he replied, "but do you really want to disobey the boss? She's pissed as hell at the moment."

"Jane did."

"Yeah, but Jane's Jane. It's different," Rigsby finished with a loud sneeze. Van Pelt handed him a tissue.

"When will bomb squad be here?"

"Ten minutes."

"If Jane and Lisbon aren't out by the time they arrive, I'm going in."

Rigsby raised a surprised eyebrow at Van Pelt. He knew she particularly cared about their boss; it was something to do with being the only women in a male-dominated field that had led to the pair having a strangely close friendship. Though it wasn't immediately obvious to strangers, the team knew that Lisbon was usually like a mother hen around Van Pelt, and the rookie saw her boss as being her mentor (and justifiably so). Rigsby just hadn't expected Van Pelt to admit that she was on the verge of flagrantly disobeying Lisbon, after all, for her to do so was practically unheard of.

"I'd rather I go in than you," Rigsby whispered.

She laughed gently in response. "You're sick, Rigsby. I'll be fine."

"Just be careful," Rigsby cringed as he said it. Van Pelt wasn't just the rookie to him, he should be going in there, regardless of his health. "I don't want us to land up like them."

"Them?"

"Jane and Lisbon," he replied and sneezed again.

"How so?"

"Peeling each other off the floor constantly. That's no way to show, ah, affection for one another."

"Oh. Right. Yes," Van Pelt blushed.

Cho glanced over at his two colleagues, who were whispering in hushed breaths and rolled his eyes. The sooner that they realized that it was them making the excuses of company protocol rather than the company itself, the better. Cho had decided a long while ago that they would be sweet together. A little high school romance-y, but sweet. And at least both of them were still focussed on the job at hand. He sighed. The sooner they closed this case, the better. In his opinion, whoever was attacking Lisbon was attacking all of them. Whatever the others liked to think, they were a family and Agent Kimball Cho was taking this very personally indeed.

***

Lisbon stirred to find that she had been handcuffed to a chair with her own cuffs. How terribly embarrassing. Her legs had, in a rather clichéd fashion, been taped to the legs of said chair with duct tape and the material gag shoved haphazardly into her mouth was already irritating her. Her assailant, however, was nowhere to be seen. Then again, she was relying on the light that was filtering in through the cracked cardboard covering up a small broken window and her eyes were still adjusting to it. From what she could discern, she was in the basement which wasn't entirely underground and stank of stale urine. Somebody had obviously been living there for some time and she shuddered at the concept. She wriggled slightly, wishing that she had asked Jane just how to pick locks and seeing if she could loosen the tape around her legs. Realistically, Lisbon knew it was a fruitless task, but it was better than sitting around and waiting for something to happen.

"Ah, Miss Lisbon, I'm glad to see you've woken up."

Lisbon swore she heard her vertebrae crack as she twisted her neck rather too fast in the direction of the staircase. The man clunked down, with an obvious limp and was swaying slightly from side to side. He held a gun, but in his inebriated state, she seriously wondered if he could aim and hit a wall never mind a smaller target. Worst of all, she recognised the voice, from only a few years back. She and Daniel White had climbed the ranks of the CBI together but he had been unceremoniously thrown out shortly after she had become a Senior Agent. But surely an agent who had stuck even more rigidly to the rules than she did couldn't possibly be Red John?She swallowed and stared at her old friend/new enemy contemptuously. This situation seemed far too surreal for her. Lisbon knew Daniel had gone off the rails a bit when he missed out on being promoted to the Senior Agent position, especially since she succeeded, but had never dreamed that she would be staring him in the eyes and actually be feeling a little bit scared of him. There was a time when she trusted him explicitly, after all and they had solved countless cases together.

"What did you think of my little presents?" he queried as he untied the gag. "Did you like them?"

"You bastard," she hissed and received a slap for her efforts. "You do know we have this building surrounded?"

"Of course I do, I'm no idiot."

"You sure about that? Threatening a lead CBI agent does seem like a pretty dumb thing to do from where I'm sitting."

As soon as she said it a fist came flying into her right eye. She winced. It wasn't as if it was the first time she had been punched, but she generally left that kind of treatment to Jane. Daniel had hit her hard, she knew it was going to leave a lovely black eye by the morning.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to hit ladies?"

"You're no lady," he spat and punched her again as if by proof.

She knew she was riling him, but it didn't bother her. It was better that she kept him talking than let him consider doing violence against her, though, she knew he was certainly considering that anyway. The knife slipped in his waistband and gun in his right hand spoke volumes about his plans. It saddened her, there had been a time when they first joined the CBI where she would have seriously considered dating him. Before she found out what a chauvinistic, sexist pig he was, obviously. But she had always respected the agent in him. Well, until he'd gone mental because a woman got a promotion before he did. How the mighty have fallen.

"I was always the better agent than you," he snapped.

"Oh really?" she questioned. "Minelli certainly didn't see it that way. And I don't see it now."

"That's because Minelli's a fool."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow.

"I know you have your boyfriend scouting around in here."

"My what?" Lisbon replied, thoroughly confused.

"That psychic guy, Jane," Daniel floundered. "I've seen the way you look out for each other, the way he just stares at you."

She shuffled uncomfortably. How the hell did Daniel know about Jane, even if he was terribly mistaken about the 'boyfriend' part? Even if she wanted it, Jane would never give her a second glance. Problem was, part of her did want it. Teresa Lisbon had always loved a challenge and Patrick Jane was bigger than most. Lisbon's mind started working way too fast, if he was Red John, how did he commit murders whilst working on said case? And if he wasn't, why the hell did he have such a pathetic motive as a job promotion? Lisbon shook her head in attempt to clear her thoughts. She could only hope that Daniel was wrong about the fact that Jane was in the building. She had told him not to not to come in and put himself into danger. But since when did he listen?

The hatch to the basement opened and both Lisbon and Daniel's eyes immediately flicked to it. Lisbon was partially relieved; she knew it wouldn't be long until one of her faithful team came along. It seemed that the more time they spent with Jane, the more they picked up on his penchant for bending the rules. That relief turned to horror as she saw a very familiar pair of legs come through.

"Jane, don't come down!" she shouted.

Jane paused, having heard Lisbon yelling. This however, was a foolhardy mistake as it provided Daniel, who had sobered up considerably whilst arguing with Lisbon, a still target. He took shot and expertly hit Jane in the calf muscle on his right leg. Lisbon shuddered as she heard his yelp in pain and then watched, horrified as the consultant's body crumpled and he fell to the bottom of the staircase.

"Jane?" she muttered tentatively, uncaring what Daniel thought. "Jane, speak to me damn you."

The fall had knocked him unconscious. Whilst Daniel White laughed at them, Lisbon fought hard to hold back the tears. There would be time for crying later.

**TBC...**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Thanks, as always, to lil smiles for betaing this. I feel like I ought to add a warning for **violence** and **torture** in this chapter. So consider yourselves warned.

Also, the next part may be a bit of a wait. Mainly because, um, I haven't written it yet. But I will get it done.

Thanks as always for the inspiring reviews, they're brilliant at kicking a lazy author into gear. (Yeah, that's as subtle as I get.)

x tromana

**Part Nine**

"Daniel, where's Sam?"

"Sam?"

"My brother, Sam."

He laughed in her face, whilst brandishing his knife.

"Ah, he was just a ruse to get you here. And it worked, didn't it? You fell for it hook, line and sinker."

His knife blade slipped easily through the seams of her protective vest, and it fell casually to the ground in two pieces. Lisbon winced as the knife point sailed straight through her blouse too, and caught each of her shoulders purposefully, with spots of red blood appearing in contrast to her pale skin almost immediately. Daniel looked particularly proud as Lisbon attempted to cover up any sign of emotion, apart from anger, of course.

"There's something quite sexy about the Snow White look, isn't there?"

Lisbon recoiled as he ran a hand through her dark hair and cupped her cheek surprisingly gently. Daniel grinned, lifted the knife and slashed her cheek. The pain shot through her and it was seconds before the rivulets of blood ran to her mouth. The tang of iron was unmistakable, though she was still mildly unconcerned for the cut. There was still a bomb somewhere and it could go off at any second, after all. However, the threat didn't seem to bother him. A murderer he may be, but if she knew Daniel White, she was certain of his obscenely high level of self-preservation.

"Though, Snow White has to be rather pious. I don't think you could be described as that, do you?"

He yanked off her sturdy work boots, not bothering to untie them and chucked them away carelessly. At first, he seemed undecided about how to deal with her white ankle socks, but ended up pulling them off almost as roughly as he had the shoes. He grinned up at her fuming face, obviously enjoying every second. Lisbon shuddered, some men joined the police because it was a way of channelling their aggression. In all the years she had worked with him, she had noticed that he had such a streak, but thought he was more than capable of keeping it under control. He dipped a finger in the blood dripping down her cheek and started to paint her toenails carefully.

"You're not Red John, are you?"

"Red John? No. He's a bit… theatrical for my liking. Though I have developed a taste for some of his styles," he leered at her like she was a piece of meat. "The mimicry was simply to make sure it wound up your psychic plaything."

"You had to make it all the more personal?" Lisbon snorted, determined not to show her fears. "That's _so_ very kind of you."

Lisbon tried to avoid looking at her now-bloodied toenails, but her eyes kept being drawn to them. Besides, it was more pleasant to look at them then the crazed face staring down at her. Before she even realised what was happening, his hand was on her cheek again, - the one that wasn't bleeding - and promptly shoved his tongue down her throat. Lisbon gagged slightly and found streams a salt tears began to join the mess down her cheek. If only Jane could wake up from his unconscious stupor. If only…

***

"Where the hell have you been?"

Rigsby and Cho had never seen Van Pelt so angry. Both men had been relieved when bomb squad had finally arrived but she was currently laying into one of their underlings, who looked frankly terrified of their red-haired rookie. They hadn't been that late, just held up in traffic but as far as Van Pelt was concerned, every second counted. Her face was mutinous as he explained how they were held up as the rest of his team set to work. Once Van Pelt had received sufficient answers, even if she wasn't particularly pleased with them, the nervous man couldn't seem to run away from her fast enough. Grabbing a torch from their SUV, Van Pelt jogged to catch up with the members of bomb squad who were about to start their search of the Major Drench warehouse.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but it's too dangerous to let anyone else in. There _is_ a bomb threat, you know."

"That's Agent to you," she corrected dismissively, "and there may be such a threat but a CBI operative is in danger, not to mention our consultant too. Didn't you hear the shot?"

"Shot or no shot, we're not letting you through until we can be sure that there is no threat or said threat has been neutralised. We cannot let any other people go wilfully into a building that could potentially blow at any second."

Van Pelt's eyes narrowed and she stalked off to update Rigsby and Cho. She didn't like this;, just the idea of losing Lisbon and Jane made her feel slightly sick. She knew she had to get in there and soon. She glanced at her watch; it had already been 45 minutes. Unable to control her anger, she found herself pacing, though her eyes never left the warehouse doors.

"I've never seen that side of Van Pelt before," Rigsby muttered to Cho, who smirked back at him.

"It's not surprising, this isn't exactly your usual hostage situation," Cho replied. "You think we can sneak one of us in there?"

***

She received another gash down her leg for some poorly conceived reason and stared with as much contempt as she could muster at her attacker. Now was not the time to get distracted by wishful thinking. She had to concentrate on the here and now if she wanted to escape from this situation alive.

"Daniel…" she whispered. She had to reason with him. "Daniel, I know you're a good man. Think about what you're doing."

"You know, I think I'm going to enjoy this very much," he leered. "I'm going to take what's owed to me."

Having dropped the knife and gun, Daniel crept closer to Lisbon, who for the first time, looked visibly nervous. Up until this point she had been managing to mask it, but the predatory look in his eyes was worrisome. Daniel scrambled onto her lap and grabbed her face roughly to start kissing her again. His hands wandered up her top and she flinched as calloused fingers came into contact with the raw skin on her shoulders. It didn't help that she swore she was feeling faint due to the blood already lost from her cheek and leg. Lisbon swallowed, trying to put the thought out of her mind and cursed her body's natural reaction to Daniel's quick hands. She didn't want to give him any pleasure from this, though she had a sinking feeling that she was failing dismally at that.

When Daniel started paying more attention to her cheek, licking away some of her blood she began speaking again. She felt sick. The man was bloody lucky that he had remembered to tie her down so effectively, otherwise he would have had it coming.

"What do I owe you, Daniel? We can sort something out without you having to do this."

"You stole away my family," he growled. "They left because I didn't get that job. You stole that from me and my family left."

"Daniel…" she whispered, "Daniel, we can help you. You don't have to do this."

"Shut up, shut up," he suddenly wasn't in the mood anymore. "Then I met some people. And they taught me how to focus my energies, that revenge is sweet. To take back what I deserve by going direct to the source. Back to you."

"Who were these people?"

He grabbed his knife from the floor and she screamed as he slashed at her belly. It wasn't a deep gash, non life-threatening, but her injuries were slowly but surely adding up.

"Like I'm going to tell you," Daniel beamed at the fact he was inflicting such pain.

She deserved it. He had been living through hell for the past three years, after all.

"We could have been so wonderful together, Teresa."

***

Despite several attempts, they had been unsuccessful in sneaking any one of them into the building during the ten minutes that they had been refused entry due to some now obviously non-existent bomb threat. It was obviously contrived for this very reason, to hold them up as long as possible whilst Lisbon and Jane's captor could do what they wanted. They heard the scream from outside and Van Pelt's blood ran cold. She immediately dashed to the door before Cho and Rigsby could stop her. Cho took it upon himself to restrain Rigsby; there was no point in putting any more of their lives at risk. Lisbon wouldn't thank them for that later. Thankfully, bomb squad had just finished scouting around upstairs, and considering the significant change in circumstances, were willing to take her down into the basement with them. They had finally decided to believe that a life was actually in danger and the threat they had been called out for, negligible.

"What's she doing?"

"Saving Lisbon, I think," Rigsby observed. "We should…"

"Stay here. We shouldn't put anyone else in danger, man."

"That's not what I was going to say."

"I know."

Rigsby and Cho fell into a tense silence. Cho's fingers dashed to a chain around his neck and he started fumbling with it absent-mindedly. Rigsby looked terrified that he was going to lose the woman he loved and Cho could only sympathise with the man. He was grateful that he should never be faced with a similar situation. He finally understood why dating within the unit was frowned upon, though not explicitly banned. Knowing that someone you loved was in danger was significantly different to worrying about your boss and friend. Of course he wanted Jane, Lisbon and Van Pelt to emerge from the building alive, more than anything, but it didn't feel like it was his life and future on the line, too.

They continued staring at the door, listening for any changes. If they heard any more shots or screens, they would be in there before anyone could say 'run.'

***

"What did you say?" he hissed down her ear as she glanced quickly at Jane, who was still lying unconscious at the bottom of the staircase.

"I said that your wife leaving you was the most sensible thing she ever did," Lisbon replied woozily, louder than she had done before. "No woman deserves to be treated like a piece of meat."

He leapt off her lap and scrambled around on the floor for his gun. Lisbon glanced behind him. She couldn't be certain, but she thought she had seen Jane move, which was a blessed relief. He hadn't moved for what felt like an age. Her eyes flicked back and she found she had a gun pressed to her forehead and shuddered. It had only been a few months since she had been looking down the barrel of Hardy's gun, and this time she was fairly certain that she had no knight in shining armour coming her way. Something had held up Cho and Van Pelt. This was it. She closed her eyes and quickly offered a prayer.

Lisbon didn't notice the hurried whispers from above, or the footsteps climbing down slowly but surely into the basement. Van Pelt, after all, was fairly light footed. All she could feel was the cool, hard barrel of a gun pressed against her skin as yet another barrage of tears began to fall. Her eyes flew open as she heard Van Pelt shout over at them.

"Drop the gun."

"No."

Van Pelt knocked her gun off the safety latch.

"We can do this quietly, it'll be better for all concerned."

"I _will_ shoot."

"And so will I," she assured him.

With his left hand, he lifted the knife and Van Pelt noticed the glint in the little natural light in the building. She only had seconds to react. Lisbon's torturer could quite easily shoot or stab her death in a split second and she was now the only one who could stop it.

***

Cho and Rigsby glanced at each other, horrified, as three shots could be heard from the basement. They didn't waste their time in trying to battle their way through the hordes of shocked people standing around the dilapidated warehouse. They had to find out answers and fast.

**TBC...**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Gah, it's taken me over an hour to get this on here in some shape or form. Is anyone else having problems uploading documents from their computer? Anyway, we're on the home stretch now. There's only 2 chapters left after this. I'm sad, I love this fic, which if you know anything about me is a Big Deal.

Thanks as always go to the awesomely awesome lil smiles for betaing this.

x tromana

**Part Ten**

"Where is that ambulance…"

"Lisbon, wake up, come on…"

"Oh God, I killed a man…."

"Van Pelt, help me with Lisbon, please?"

Jane flinched as he came around and was greeted with the sight of Rigsby's face in his. He was grateful, however as he was helped into a sitting position, though he felt like he'd rather have his leg amputated than having it remain in the pain and position it was currently in. He glanced across the basement, to where he remembered seeing Lisbon before he fell unconscious and was horrified to see Cho leaning over her bloodied form, trying desperately to rouse her back to consciousness. He immediately tried to stand, but Rigsby's hand remained on his shoulder.

"But…"

"Lisbon is going to be fine," Rigsby announced, more to convince himself than anyone else. "If Van Pelt hadn't already killed that bastard, I'd be doing it myself now."

The sound of heavy footsteps down the basement stairs caused all the conscious agents and Jane to breathe a sigh of relief. Two paramedics immediately rushed to help Cho and Van Pelt with Lisbon, their harried whispers doing nothing to ease Jane's concerns. Rigsby updated the third with what had just happened and informed them that Jane had fallen down a flight of stairs and had been shot. A blonde woman crouched down in front of Jane and unexpectedly shone a flashlight in his eyes. Growling, he batted away her hand and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hello, Mr. Jane," the paramedic whispered genially. "Let's get you to hospital, shall we?"

"What about Lisbon?"

"My colleagues are taking good care of her," she answered quickly. "And it'll be best for her and for you if you just do as you're told."

***

"How long have they been in surgery for?"

Cho glanced at his watch. He didn't think it possible, but Jane had been an even worse patient than he had been the time he went blind. Part of him thought that the only reason they managed to get Lisbon into the operating theatre faster was due to the fact that she was already unconscious. According to the latest orderly they had seen, Lisbon should be out soon, but 'soon' had been thirty-seven minutes ago. Van Pelt had taken to pacing, which was only slightly less annoying than Rigsby's questioning of the passage of time every five minutes or so.

"Lisbon, just under two hours, Jane, fifty minutes or so," Cho replied. "Asking is not going to make them come out any quicker."

"I'm just worried," Rigsby replied indignantly. "How long does it take to stitch up a few gashes?"

"She might have had some internal injuries," Van Pelt piped up.

Rigsby paled. "You're not helping."

A doctor appeared at the corner and all three of them snapped to attention. It hadn't crossed any of their minds to try and contact Sam, or Lisbon's other brother. They just wanted peace of mind, to know that their boss was going to survive. The doctor found it slightly unnerving at the way they all stared at him, but he knew he shouldn't have been surprised. He'd been told before he left theatre that Ms. Lisbon's associates were all cops and liable to scrutinise his appearance.

"You're with Ms. Lisbon and Mr. Jane?"

"How are they doing?" Cho immediately asked, getting his question in before either of the younger two agents had the chance.

"Ms. Lisbon is out of surgery. She should make a good recovery."

"Oh thank God," Van Pelt breathed. "Do you have any news on Jane? I mean Patrick, Patrick Jane."

"None, I'm afraid."

"When can we see her?"

"Not for another couple of hours, at least," he informed them. "I suggest you get some rest and call Ms. Lisbon's family."

***

They only left when they knew that Jane was in the same situation as Lisbon, agreeing to meet back at the hospital at nine in the morning. Jane's doctor had told them that that would be the soonest they would be able to see either of them and reiterated the statement that they should get some rest. Cho told Rigsby to ensure Van Pelt got some rest, and to stay with her as long as she would allow. The poor woman was still cut up about the day's events and he knew that she wouldn't stop questioning herself until she had a word with Lisbon, at the very least.

Instead of heading home, Cho headed towards the CBI headquarters. He knew that Minelli would be waiting impatiently to hear directly from him an update on both the case and the conditions of Lisbon and Jane. Also, it would provide him with an opportunity to attempt to contact James and Samuel Lisbon. Cho didn't know much about James, in all the years he'd known Lisbon, she'd only mentioned him twice but something was still bothering him about Samuel. He felt like he was missing something.

His meeting with Minelli went smoothly. The unit was given a couple of days off in order to set matters straight, but Rigsby, Van Pelt and Cho were expected to be back in work by the Monday. Just because the lead agent and consultant were out of action, didn't mean that California's crime scene was going to take a rest. Cho had been surprised when Minelli informed him that he would have to take Lisbon's position until she was well enough to return. Cho sighed. He liked his boss, and desperately hoped she would be back soon. Taking over her position, even on just a temporary basis, felt uncomfortable for him. He found himself sitting at his desk for most the night, calling Lisbon's brothers. It took him seven attempts before he managed to get hold of Sam.

"Sam? It's Agent Cho from the CBI. Your sister has been hospitalised."

"What?"

"She was attacked by the suspect."

"Is she okay? What's happened to the suspect?"

"He's dead, Sam," Cho replied. He didn't think it necessary for him to know that he had been used as a ruse to ensnare Lisbon in the first place.

Sam took a while to reply. "Okay, when can I see her?"

"The doctor said tomorrow morning."

"Thank you."

Cho frowned as he placed his cell phone down on his desk. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, but Samuel Lisbon's speech impediment seemed significantly milder than it had been the last time they spoke.

***

When Lisbon woke up, she saw an empty hospital bed beside her and Patrick Jane slouched over in the chair beside her own. She groaned, squinting at the bright lights slightly and not at all pleased with the menagerie of noises being emitted by the machinery surrounding her. It took her a good minute to realise where she was and why she was there. Vaguely, she recalled that Van Pelt had appeared in that dingy basement but the last thing she remembered was Daniel's knife plunging into her arm as Van Pelt shot him. As she readjusted to the bright lighting, she attempted to sit up and disturbed Jane in the process.

"Hey," she murmured. "Why aren't you in bed? And why are you in here?"

"I refused to be operated upon unless I knew I would wake up in the same room as you."

She blinked. "Why?"

"Because I nearly lost you."

Lisbon's jaw dropped but she quickly closed it. They fell into an uneasy silence, neither knowing quite what to say in response to his plaintive statement. Jane yelped as a spasm of pain shot through his leg and Lisbon froze, concerned.

"What's wrong, Jane?"

"He shot me in the leg," Jane moaned from his seat. "It hurts, Lisbon."

"I know it does," she murmured, smirking. If she were closer, she decided she would have pet his hand in an affectionate, yet patronising manner. Men could be such wimps.

"My head hurts, too."

"I know, Jane. Come lie down, here."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and shifted over to the left, closer to her drip and patted the hospital bed beside her. Tentatively, he hauled himself up on the bed and quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and took hold of her wrist with the other. She tensed up slightly, unused to the physical contact, but eventually relaxed into his touch. He waited until her heartbeat had slowed before he started speaking again.

"Don't scare me like that again."

"I was just doing my job."

"I know, but…"

"Shh," she whispered. "I don't need to hear any more."

"Teresa?"

"Yes… Patrick?"

"Thank you."

**TBC...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Penultimate chapter! Thanks, as always to lil smiles, who is a rather awesome beta. This part is dedicated to Divinia Serit for reading my mind... yet again! x tromana

**Part Eleven**

"So did you get through to Sam?" Van Pelt asked.

Cho nodded as they walked through the winding hospital corridors. In his opinion, Van Pelt looked terrible. It was obvious that she had barely slept and she was looking particularly pale. He shuddered as he remembered the first time he had killed a man; all things considered, he knew she was coping well with it. Cho knew full well it was a situation all the agents never wanted to find themselves in and tried to avoid at all costs. Quietly, Rigsby opened the door for Cho and Van Pelt, and they all shuffled into the room. Van Pelt allowed a small smile to erupt as she laid her eyes on her boss and their consultant curled up together on a hospital bed designed for one. Jane was clinging onto Lisbon as if his life depended on it and Lisbon looked more relaxed than she had in all the time Van Pelt had known her.

"I think we should…" Rigsby started.

"Yeah," Cho agreed, "we can come back later."

They turned to head out but froze as Lisbon let out a gentle moan. As her eyes flickered open, Van Pelt pushed past Rigsby and Cho to reach Lisbon's side. It was one thing seeing her fast asleep, but an entirely different kind of relief to see her fully conscious. Lisbon smiled weakly as she spotted the rest of the team hovering at her bedside and didn't pull away when Van Pelt grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry, boss," Van Pelt whispered. "If I'd got there…"

"You can stop right there, Van Pelt. You did good."

"It's good to see you awake," Rigsby grinned. "You had us worried."

"It's good to be awake," she muttered. "Cho…"

She quickly indicated to Van Pelt and Cho immediately worked out what she was after. He smiled slightly. Despite the fact that she was hospitalised, having been beaten black and blue by some idiot, her first instinct was still to look after her team. Carefully, he nudged Rigsby with his shoulder and headed towards the door.

"Yes, boss. Come on Rigsby, let's get a coffee or something."

Lisbon nodded in gratitude and remained silent until they had both left the room. Instead, she took to observing Van Pelt. The younger woman looked very withdrawn and conflicted, all of which was hardly surprising. Lisbon decided she would have moved if she wasn't scared of disturbing Jane; she was fairly certain it was the most sleep he had had in several years, but quickly dismissed the thought from her mind. She had to help Grace first.

"I killed a man, boss," Grace said, sounding terribly hollow. "How do I…"

"Cope? You'll find a way. Everyone's methods are different. Some people plant trees, others remember by yearly charitable donations…" she tailed off. "The CBI psychiatrist will help you out with that. Have you seen him yet?"

"No."

Lisbon frowned. "It's company protocol whenever a case ends in a shooting. I would have thought Cho would have told you by now. Never mind. Book an appointment as soon as possible."

"Yes, boss."

"Things will get better. And thank you. For saving my life, I mean."

"Er, no problem."

"You did the right thing, Grace," Lisbon reiterated. "I promise you, things will get better."

"I'll leave you and Jane to get some rest," she murmured. Before she left, she turned to face Lisbon one last time. "I was wondering… how do you cope with it?"

Lisbon considered the question as Jane appeared to wake on his own accord. She frowned slightly, not quite sure how to formulate an answer. Guilt was one of many emotions she found easier to bury than to talk about. She didn't feel comfortable talking about her own idiosyncrasies either. The psychiatrist had told her on the few occasions that she had had to visit him that she was punishing herself more than was necessary, but Lisbon knew that she couldn't cope without them.

"That's, uh, private. I'm sorry, but you'll find it easier to formulate your own methods on your own," she sighed. "Go see the psychiatrist. As soon as possible, please."

Van Pelt nodded and quickly whispered her well-wishes to Jane before leaving. Jane smiled and nodded in response, only briefly removing his arms from around Lisbon's shoulders to stretch. He'd been surprised at just how long he had managed to sleep, but comforted to wake up and find Lisbon still in his arms. Jane pouted as she untangled herself to get up.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"To stretch my legs, why?"

"You nearly died yesterday. You need to rest."

"I've been lying down for more than twelve hours, how much more rest do I need?"

Lisbon glared at Jane. She believed that for some reason, this extended stay at the hospital would be more taxing than most.

***

"Welcome back, boss!"

Van Pelt couldn't help but rush up and throw her arms around Lisbon. It had only been two weeks since the whole debacle, but she had missed her. With help, Cho and Minelli had managed to piece together everything that had occurred during the case and somehow tied up all the loose ends. Minelli had told Lisbon that she and Jane were more than welcome to have more time off as it was obvious they were both no way near fully recovered. She had insisted though, even if she was restricted to office work for at least a month, and where she went, Jane followed. She was still irritated by his habit of hovering. Something had changed between them, since his admission in front of that warehouse, but neither had the confidence to discuss it yet.

"Thank you, Van Pelt."

"Are you…"

"I'm fine," Lisbon insisted. "You look better."

"The psychiatrist has been very helpful."

"Good."

Jane scowled at the mention of the psychiatrist but remained quiet. Cho quickly brought her up to date with their most current case. Lisbon smiled. It was good to be back and she hoped that being back in the working environment would help the team dynamics settle back down again. The moment that they realised she felt well in herself now and they stopped worrying couldn't come soon enough. She flashed a quick smile at Rigsby before she headed into her office. She wasn't surprised when Jane followed her in and closed the door behind him.

"Yes, Jane?"

"What happened to _Patrick_?"

"We're at work," she replied with a shrug. "And don't answer my question with a question."

"We need to talk."

"Talk, then."

Jane took the seat opposite hers and observed Lisbon carefully. They had spent a lot of time together of late, mainly at his request. He knew she had found it frustrating at times, even if she had known it was for the best. Jane sighed, remembering as he lay impatiently while having his CT scan a fortnight ago, just waiting for news that wasn't coming through. It was why he had specifically caused as much fuss as possible before allowing them to operate, even if he had to give in eventually. He hadn't regretted using that time to persuade them to let him share a room with her, though. But since they had been released from hospital, Lisbon had seemed determined to keep some distance between them.

"Our relationship, it's changed."

"I know that," she snapped. "Look, if you're just going to…"

"No, hear me out. Please?"

Her shoulders sagged, and she nodded in defeat. He smiled weakly in return while trying to find the right words to say.

"I _like_ you, Teresa. I always have. But I don't know what I want anymore. Am I dishonouring the memory of my wife? And you! It's not fair on you. You deserve someone happy and whole, not a wreck…"

As Lisbon opened her mouth to retort, the door creaked open and both of them saw an apologetic Cho standing there. Behind him, Samuel Lisbon was looking rather guilty. Her brother hadn't even spoken to her since she had been hospitalised. Jane and Cho quickly excused themselves and Sam took the seat that Jane had grudgingly evacuated.

"What is it, Sam?" she asked wearily.

"I'm heading back to Somerfield today."

"Good."

"Tess, please don't be mad, I'm sorry I din't visit you in hospital. I meant to, honest."

"I'm meant to be working, Sam. I don't want to do this now."

"You will call me?"

"Yes."

Sam nodded, having nothing left to say. Besides, it was obvious his elder sister was becoming uncooperative, which was irksome. Before he reached the door he stopped and spoke once more.

"That Jane? You like 'im don't you? Let yourself be happy for a change, Tess. You never know when that chance will go."

She sighed. "Good bye, Sam."

As he left, a small smile was written across his features. He'd said what he needed to say.

**TBC...**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **The end! I can't believe I have finished it. I wasn't even going to write it until OnlySoAnHour suggested that I extended a drabble, so thank you. I've enjoyed writing this so much and I'm quite sad that it's over. At least I have my new multiparter, _Unbound_, to keep me occupied.

Thanks go to: PhoenixWytch, Abandoned Anarchy Angel, Divinia Serit (aka twin from across the pond), smch8382, Habeous Corpus, cureless, MyGoldenGlow, Penelope Louise, Emma Berlin, Ebony10, dddynamite, kathiann, LOZZEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYY, Wuchel1, shopping-luva91 and Queen Em for each and every review you've left me. I find them incredibly helpful and encouraging so thank you! And thanks to everyone who has added this to favourites and/or story alert. It means a lot to know that people like this and are following it.

And a massive, massive thank you to **lil smiles** for being completely amazing and betaing this.

Thanks again!

x tromana

**Part Twelve**

She remained holed up in her office until clocking off time, only briefly leaving to share lunch with the rest of the team. Lisbon hadn't at all been surprised at the influx of paperwork that had occurred while she had been off, but Cho had done a very good at keeping everything organised on her behalf. Except for the visits from Jane and Sam, the day had been uneventful, which was a blessed relief. But if the next four weeks she was forced to stay out of the field remained like that, Lisbon knew she would go mad. It didn't help that Jane had been avoiding her, either. She glanced at her calendar. Only one week until her stitches were removed, she mused. She'd been warned that there might be some permanent scarring, but that didn't bother her too much. Lisbon had never been particularly vain, after all.

She had spent a lot of time considering what Jane and her brother had said though. Lisbon hadn't noticed when her brother had become so wise and cursed herself for underestimating him. As for Jane, well, where could she start? Of all that he had said, one thing had stung. He didn't have the right to tell her what she 'deserved'. His admission was enough for her to know that he was as confused about everything as she was, but he had as near as admitted that he was attracted to her. They both deserved a shot at happiness after everything that had just happened, didn't they?

Jane was still in the bullpen, talking amicably to the others as they all prepared to leave. With some resolve, Lisbon left her office and walked determinedly towards him. Jane looked at her curiously and she just smiled slightly in return. Nobody spoke as she stood directly in front of him. Carefully, she wrapped an arm around Jane's shoulders and placed a kiss firmly on his lips. Shocked not only at the initial contact, but at the fact that she was willing to be so forthcoming in front of her team, it took Jane a while to respond. All too quickly, they parted, breathless. Lisbon glanced at the others, all of whom were attempting to avert their eyes and their surprise. They had all expected something would happen, just not in front of them.

"Don't tell me what I do and don't deserve, Patrick Jane," she said, while prodding him gently in the chest. "Dinner, tonight?"

He nodded dumbly and she smiled broadly in response. Lisbon bid farewell to her team as she went to grab her jacket and a file from her office. Jane followed after her quickly, trying to hide the blush creeping onto his cheeks. When they left, Cho raised an eyebrow at the other two.

"You guys owe me 100 bucks."

"No," Rigsby protested, "you said that they'd hide it from us. That definitely wasn't hiding."

"Stop being pedantic, Rigsby," Van Pelt smiled, pleased that the two of them had finally come to their senses. "He called it. Anyway, he said they'd _probably_ hide it."

***

Samuel Lisbon didn't bother to knock on the door of their old family home. Both him and James knew that Teresa wouldn't dare set foot in there; she just couldn't for some reason. That was what made it the perfect hideaway, the perfect base for their operations. James nodded in response and indicated to his younger brother to come closer. He'd finally managed to get the footage recorded from the hidden camera in the Major Drench warehouse.

"The loss of Daniel White was regretful," James muttered as he heard the sitting room door swing open. "He was becoming such a good little pawn."

Sam nodded in response. "I'm surprised that the Van Pelt woman was the one who got him, though. I genuinely thought it'd be Jane. Teresa's soft on him."

"Oh good, that'll make it even sweeter when we catch up with them next."

As Sam pulled up a chair, they fell into a restive silence, just observing the footage. While their sister was unconscious, bleeding copiously, Jane had fought against everyone in attempt to see her. That was despite having been unconscious for a good fifteen minutes and having been shot. Jane had provided a good distraction from their ultimate target over the past six years and the irony that their sister and Jane had begun falling into some semblance of love hadn't been missed by either of them.

Sam glanced at his brother, a smile was traced across his lips. They both knew just how much it would devastate the little dark haired lady to know that two of her younger siblings were the notorious _'__Red John_'. But really, they had done it for her. After all, when your elder sister is a high-flying officer of the law, sometimes the only way to gain her attention is by killing someone. Jessica's death had a dual purpose, it attracted the attention of Teresa and punished the silly girl for cheating on him in the first place. She had been so woefully naïve to believe that he would never know; just playing on a falsified speech impediment that he'd long since grown out of, meant that people acted differently around you. And as for Elizabeth, she was just another way of ensuring that the case remained personal. Teresa hadn't even suspected them for a second. She never did. And she gave up information to them so very willingly, just making it all the easier for them.

"Do you know how many people she has shot dead now?"

Sam shook his head. He never bothered asking James where he got his information from, though he suspected he had an informant within the CBI. They definitely weren't on their sister's team though. They were all too close, too much like a family. And Teresa cared for them the way that she should care for her brothers.

"Seven. Hypocritical little bitch."

Sam wasn't quite sure when they decided that their sister was the source of all their family problems. But James was very persuasive; it was him who had invented the Red John persona, him who came up with blood red smiley face, him who had recruited Daniel for their latest games. Sam just went along with all of it and was only now beginning to have some doubts. Teresa couldn't have been directly responsible for the deaths of their parents. She certainly couldn't help the fact that they went into care.

"I don't think we should go after her or Jane for a while. What about the rookie? Van Pelt?"

James grinned at his brother as Sam nodded in response. Their eyes flicked up at the smiley they had daubed on the wall. They knew that Teresa would be poring over the details, trying to see if there truly was any link between Daniel White and _'__Red John_'. She wouldn't know that the fun and games were just beginning.

end


End file.
